Jalapeno-peach turkey breast

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Today is the third Saturday which means I work in at the thrift store in the morning. It went well, but I forgot to eat breakfast before I went. Needless to say, I was starving by the time we were done at noon. I beat-feet to Mac’s and ate there, but… it’s Saturday, so I also had wine. Then a friend showed up and we talked and drank, drank and talked.

Then I went grocery shopping for the turkey breast for the bbq. Whole Foods Market had one when I was there on Wednesday, so I figured I’d be safe picking one up today. I had to make a few concessions since they didn’t have the fresh ones any longer. The one I bought was semi-frozen. I hadn’t reread the recipe in a couple of days and I knew I’d be forgetting things and coming back, but I shopped anyway.
I didn’t need to get that many things on the second trip, just wood chips for the bbq. I should have picked up some more jalapeños, but didn’t.

Then I came home, put the turkey on to marinate (that was at about 4PM) and took a nap. I need a hobby. Saturdays are just too long if you don’t have anything to do.

Here’s a reminder: read the entire recipe before starting. The turkey had to marinate for 3-6 hours. After not letting the steak marinate long enough on the 6th, I wasn’t going to short the time for the turkey. So, this turned into a two day event.

This recipe calls for 1 cup of peach preserves, but the recipe for peach preserves is: peaches and sugar, cook until syrupy. So, I adjusted the recipe to accommodate that.

Jalapeño-peach turkey breast
Weber’s Big Book of Barbeque, Jamie Purviance and Sandra S. McRae, pg 270

For the marinade:

1 T black peppercorns
1 T cumin seeds
1 T chili powder
1 T dried oregano
1 T dried sage
1 tsp granulated garlic
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 T extra virgin olive oil

1 turkey breast, 4-5 pounds, bone in.

For the Jam:

6 firm, ripe peaches, peeled and chopped
1 cup peach preserves
2/3 cup peach juice
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 T cider vinegar
4 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
1 T chopped fresh cilantro

Mesquite chunks for grilling, soaked in water at least 30 minutes.

For the Paste: Toast the cumin seeds until fragrant. Combine the cumin seeds and peppercorns in a spice mill and grind into a coarse powder. Add the remaining herbs and the lime juice and oil, mix into a paste.

Rinse the turkey and pat dry, place in a gallon sized resealable bag and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for 3-6 hours.

For the jam: In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, combine the peaches, preserves, sugar, and peach juice. Cook over medium-low heat until the peaches are cooked and the juice is thick, about 30-40 minutes. (Allow to cool, and puree in a food processor if desired). Add the cilantro, jalapeños and cider vinegar

Grill over indirect heat for 1-1 ½ hours or until temperature reaches 170° degrees. Let stand for 20 minutes before slicing.

How I did it: I took two days to make this because I didn’t get started early enough on Saturday and Sunday I had to read the book for book club and didn’t want to risk not getting that finished, since I’m the moderator.
This could easily be done in one day, throw on the marinade in the morning, then make the jam while the turkey bbqs.

Since the recipe for making peach preserves is so simple, I blanched, peeled and chopped twelve peaches. There was enough peach juice that I didn’t need to add any extra. I cooked six of them with one cup of sugar for about 20 minutes, added the remaining peaches (no additional sugar) and cooked until thick, another 20 minutes. I added the cilantro and jalapeños to the jam for the last 10 minutes. I wanted the flavors to blend more. I only had one fresh jalapeño, so I used a handful of pickled jalapeños. It was good with fewer jalapeños. The sweetness balanced the spiciness of the marinade.

For the paste: I think my granulated garlic is about 20 years old. I smelled it and couldn’t really smell anything, so I used about 1 T of garlic paste instead. It seemed to work well.

I used a boneless turkey breast and decreased the cooking time. I started them skin side down, for 20 minutes, turned them over for 20 minutes, then checked the temp. The smaller of the two breasts was done, but the larger breast needed about 10 more minutes.

During the last 10 minutes, I threw some asparagus on the grill (spray with olive oil). I served the turkey with steamed greens, asparagus and topped the turkey with the jam.

I manage to actually cook the turkey right. I didn’t burn it and the center was actually cooked. I think this is a first, which is good because that turkey breast cost me $36 at Whole Food. I would have been pissed if I’d ruined it.